Obadiah 1

The vision of Obadiah. Thus says my Lord Yahweh concerning Edom:

We have heard a report from Yahweh, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: "Rise up and let us rise against it for battle." "Look, I will make you insignificant among the nations. You will be utterly despised! The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of a rock, the heights of its dwelling, you who say in your heart: ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ Even if you soar like the eagle, even if your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down!" declares Yahweh: "If thieves came to you, if plunderers of the night—How you have been destroyed!—would they not steal what they wanted? If grape gatherers came, would they not leave gleanings? How Esau has been pillaged; his treasures have been ransacked! All of your allies have driven you up to the boundary; your confederates have deceived you and have prevailed against you. Those who eat your bread have set an ambush for you, there is no understanding of it. On that day," declares Yahweh, "will I not destroy the wise men from Edom, and understanding from the mountain of Esau? And your warriors will be shattered, O Teman, so that everyone from the mountain of Esau will be cut off because of the slaughter!

"Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame will cover you and you will be cut off forever. On the day you stood nearby, on the day strangers took his wealth, and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots over Jerusalem, you were also like one of them. But you should not have gloated over your brother’s day, on the day of his misfortune, and you should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah on the day of their perishing, and you should not have opened your mouth wide on the day of distress. You should not have entered the gate of my people on the day of their disaster. You also should not have gloated over his misery on the day of his disaster, and you should not have stretched out your hands on the day of his disaster. And you should not have stood at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives and you should not have handed over his survivors on the day of distress.

"For the day of Yahweh is near against all the nations! Just as you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return on your own head. For just as you have drunk on my holy mountain, all the nations will drink continually. They will drink and they will slurp, and they will be as if they had never been. But on Mount Zion there will be an escape, and it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will take possession of their dispossessors. And the house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; and they will set them on fire and will consume them. And there will not be a survivor for the house of Esau," for Yahweh has spoken.

Those of the Negev will take possession of the mountain of Esau, and those of the Shephelah will possess the land of the Philistines, and they shall take possession of the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria, and Benjamin will take possession of Gilead. And the exiles of this army of the people of Israel will possess Canaan up to Zarephath, and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will take possession of the cities of the Negev. And those who have been saved will go up on Mount Zion to rule the mountain of Esau. And the kingdom will belong to Yahweh.

Jeremiah 40

The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh after Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had let him go from Ramah, where he had been taken bound in chains in the midst of all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being deported to Babylon. And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, "Yahweh your God threatened this disaster to this place, and now he has brought it about, and Yahweh has done just as he threatened. Because you sinned against Yahweh and did not listen to his voice, so this thing has happened to you. And so then look, I have released you today from the chains that were on your hands. If it is good in your eyes to come with me to Babylon, then come, and I will take care of you. But if it is bad in your eyes to come with me to Babylon, then refrain. Look, the whole land isbefore you. To wherever it is good and right in your eyes to go, then go there." While he still had not turned back, Nebuzaradan added, "Return to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed in an official position over the towns of Judah, and stay with him in the midst of the people. Or to wherever it is right in your eyes to go, then go there." Then the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of provisions and a present, and let him go. So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah and stayed with him in the midst of the people who were left in the land.

When all the commanders of the armies who were in the open country and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam in an official position in the land, and that he had put him in charge of men, and women, and little children, and of the poor of the land, of all those who had not been deported to Babylon, then they went to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan, and Jehonathan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore to them and to their men, saying, "You must not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans. Stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you. As for me, look, I am staying at Mizpah to represent youbefore the Chaldeans who come to us. But you, gather wine and summer fruit and oil, and put them in your vessels, and live in your towns that you have seized." And also all the Judeans who were in Moab, and among the Ammonites, and in Edom, and who were in all the lands, when they heard that the king of Babylon had given a remnant to Judah and that he had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, in an official position over them, then all the Judeans returned from all the places to which they were scattered. And they came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and they gathered wine and summer fruit that yielded in great abundance.

And Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies who were in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah and said to him, "Are you at all aware that Baalis, the king of the Ammonites, has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, to kill you?" But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe them. Then Johanan the son of Kareah said to Gedaliah in secrecy at Mizpah, saying, "Please let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and nobody will know. Why should he kill you, so that all of Judah who are gathered to you will be scattered, and the remnant of Judah will perish?" But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "You must not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael."

Jeremiah 41

And then in the seventh month Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, from the offspring of the kingship, and one of the chief officers of the king, came to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam at Mizpah, along with ten men. And they ate bread together there at Mizpah. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah got up, along with the ten men who were with him, and they struck Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and killed him whom the king of Babylon had appointed in an official position over the land. Then Ishmael killed all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with the Chaldeans who were found there, the soldiers.

And then on the second day of the killing of Gedaliah—and no one knew— then men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men with shaven beards and torn garments, who had cut themselves with blades, having grain offerings and frankincense in their hands to bring to the temple of Yahweh. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah came out to meet them from Mizpah, weeping as he came. And then as he was meeting them, he said to them, "Come to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam." And then, the moment of their coming to the middle of the city, then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, along with the men who were with him, slaughtered them and threw them to the middle of the pit. But ten men were found among them, and they said to Ishmael, "You must not kill us, for we have hidden treasures in the field, wheat, and barley, and oil, and honey. So he refrained and he did not kill them in the midst of their fellow countrymen. Now the pit into which Ishmael threw all the corpses of the men whom he had killed along with Gedaliah was the same one that King Asa had made because of Baasha the king of Israel, who was against him. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain ones.

Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the daughters of the king and all the people who were left at Mizpah, over whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And Ishmael took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.

When Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies who were with him, heard all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, then they took all the men and went to fight against Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. And they met him at the great pool that is in Gibeon. And then, the moment that all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies who were with him, they were glad. So all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and returned and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped with eight men from Johanan, and they went to the Ammonites.

Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies who were with him took from Mizpah all the rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, strong men, soldiers, and women, and little children, and eunuchs whom he brought back from Gibeon. And they set out and stayed at the lodging place of Chimham that is near Bethlehem, intending to go to Egypt because of the Chaldeans. For they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed in an official position over the land.

Jeremiah 42

Then all the commanders of the armies, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the smallest to the greatest, approached and said to Jeremiah the prophet, "May our plea please fall before you, and pray for us to Yahweh your God, for all this remnant, for we are left but a few of many, as your eyes are seeing us. And let Yahweh your God inform us the way in which we should go and the thing that we should do." And Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard. Look, I am going to pray to Yahweh your God according to your words, and then all the words that Yahweh answers you I will tell you; I will not withhold from you a word." Then they said to Jeremiah, "May Yahweh be against us as a true and faithful witness if we do not do according to all the words that Yahweh sends you for us. Whether good or bad, we will listen to the voice of Yahweh our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it may go well with us when we listen to the voice of Yahweh our God."

And then at the end of ten days the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah. And he summoned Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the commanders of the armies who were with him, and all the people from the smallest to the greatest, and said to them, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to cause your plea to fall before him: ‘If only you will stay in this land, then I will build you and I will not tear you down, and I will plant you and I will not pluck you up, for I relent of the disaster that I have brought to you. You must not be afraid of the king of Babylon whom you areafraid of. You must not be afraid of him,’ declares Yahweh, ‘for I am with you to save you and to deliver you from his hand. And I will show you compassion, and he will have compassion on you and will restore you to your soil.

But if you are saying, "We will not stay in this land," so as to not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, saying, "No, for we will go to the land of Egypt where we will not see war, and we will not hear the sound of a horn, and we will not be hungry for bread, and there we will stay," then therefore hear the word of Yahweh, O remnant of Judah. Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: "If you are determined to go to Egypt, and you go to dwell as aliens there, then it will be that the sword that you are in fear of will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine that you are anxious of will pursue after you there into Egypt, and there you will die. So all the people who are determined to go to Egypt to dwell as aliens there will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the plague, and there will not be for them an escapee or a survivor from the disaster that I am bringing upon them." For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: "As my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will pour out on you at your going to Egypt, and you will become a curse, and a horror, and a curse formula, and a disgrace, and you will no longer see this place."’

Yahweh has spoken to you, O remnant of Judah, ‘You must not go to Egypt.’ You must certainly know that I have warned you todaythat you have made a fatal mistake, for you sent me to Yahweh your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to Yahweh our God, and all that Yahweh our God says, so tell us and we will do it.’ So I have told you today, and you have not listened to the voice of Yahweh your God, or of anything that he sent me for you. Now then, certainly you must know that by the sword, by the famine, and by the plague you will die in the place where you desire to go, to dwell as aliens there."

Psalm 147

Praise Yah.For it is good to sing praises to our God;for it is pleasant; praise is fitting.Yahweh is building Jerusalem;he gathers the scattered ones of Israel.He is the one who heals the brokenhearted,and binds up their wounds.He counts the number of the stars;he gives names to all of them.Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;his understanding is unlimited.Yahweh helps the afflicted up;he brings the wicked down to the ground.Sing to Yahweh with thanksgiving;sing praises to our God with lyre,who covers the heavens with clouds,who provides rain for the earth,who causes grass to grow on the mountains.He gives to the animal its food,and to the young ravens that cry.He does not delight in the strength of the horse;he takes no pleasure in the legs of the man.Yahweh takes pleasure in those who fear him,the ones who hope for his loyal love.Laud Yahweh, O Jerusalem;praise your God, O Zion,for he strengthens the bars of your gates.He blesses your children within you;he makes your border peaceful;he satisfies you with thefinest of wheat.He sends out his command to the earth;his word runs swiftly.He gives snow like wool;he scatters frost like ashes;he throws his hail like crumbs.Who can stand before his cold?He sends out his word and melts them;he blows his breath, the water flows.He declares his word to Jacob,his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.He has not done so for any nation,and they do not know his ordinances.Praise Yah.

1 Peter 5

Therefore I, your fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a sharer of the glory that is going to be revealed, exhort the elders among you: shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not by compulsion but willingly, in accordance with God, and not greedily but eagerly, and not as lording it over those under your care, but being examples for the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

In the same way, younger men, be subject to the elders, and all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the right time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares for you.

Be sober; be on the alert. Your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, because you know the same kinds of sufferings are being accomplished by your community of believers in the world. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered for a short time, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.

Through Silvanus, the faithful brother (as I consider him), I have written to you briefly to encourage you and to attest that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. She who is in Babylon, chosen the same as you, greets you, and so does my son Mark. Greet one another with a loving kiss. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.